


like diamonds and roses (and rules, cakes, and lullabies)

by WattStalf



Series: cos your love's got the best of me (baby, you're making a fool of me) [16]
Category: Baccano!
Genre: Choking, Drabbles, F/M, General warnings for them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-13
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-29 04:12:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7669600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Christ, that broad smells like a funeral...</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. like diamonds in your eyes

**Author's Note:**

> These were drabbles from my 20 Day Challenge that I deleted, I was proud enough of these to keep them around.

Ladd's eyes are brighter than anything Lua has ever seen, and when her vision is fading and they're the only things she can see, she feels a serenity she doesn't think she will ever get from anything else. The only thing that is even nearly as bright is his smile, but when even that fades, when it's only his eyes, she feels safe and calm, and even though she can't breathe and he's the reason for that, squeezing her throat so tight, she feels so very secure. She drifts off into some space where she feels nothing and thinks nothing and sees nothing but those bright eyes, and she is content to stay there for the rest of her life.

But then he lets up and her vision comes back as her lungs force her to take in air, because the rest of her life is longer than that, and he won't let her stay there until he's done with her. That's okay; Lua is happy to spend the rest of her life by his side as well, watching those bright eyes light up over and over again, for every victim and, sometimes, just for her.


	2. breaking all the rules

Ladd can't understand what he has with Lua. He's tried and he's tried and he's tried, but he's never been able to make sense of it. She looks at him with such enthusiasm whenever her death is mentioned, and he doesn't _like_ when people do that and he doesn't _like_ when they want it, but he _loves_ it when she does.

He thinks it's very wonderful and special and romantic that she wants him to kill her, and he wants to kill her more than anyone else, even though he shouldn't. Even though she's always going to see it coming and she's always going to want it, and it's the opposite of what he enjoys. Threatening her and playing with her and teasing her should only be reminders that she wants it too much and that she's no fun, but instead, she's the most fun he's ever had in his life.

He knows, then, that that means he must really love her, or else he would have hated her by now. It has to be love, to make him forget and forgo everything that normally makes killing fun, and for it to be all the more fun when he does so, and for that to only happen when he is with her. She's so much fun, it's almost a shame that she's going to have to die someday.


	3. magnolias and roses

Lua has always smelled like flowers, but before Ladd met her, she wore a perfume that smelled like Magnolias. It was beautiful and enchanting and it drew him in, but he could never shake the feeling that there was another scent that suited her much better. When he began courting her, one of the firsts gifts he got her was a rose perfume, and and it was like a match made in heaven.

Now she always smells like roses, and he loves it when she wears so much perfume that it's nearly suffocating, when the scent of roses overpowers any room she enters. Others might complain but he takes in the scent with delight, and he's shot every person who's complained about the way she smells.

The last person who got gunned down over that said something that made it all make sense, coughing and muttering, “Christ, that broad smells like a funeral...”


	4. cake

The cake is huge, and Lua has to look up to see the top of it when she's sitting down. Ladd looks so goddamn proud of himself, grinning from ear to ear as he presents it to her, and she has to admit that it's impressive. It's bigger than most wedding cakes, but otherwise looks just like one, with white frosting and beautiful roses made of pink and yellow frosting all over. Even the leaves of the roses are surprisingly accurate, and colored a delicate mint green.

On one of the lower layers, “Happy Birthday Lua” is written in intricate pink script, and the whole thing is so very _beautiful_ , and more thoughtful than any cake she's ever received. Half of it is covered in a deep, red spray, small speckles of what she knows to be blood scattered around.

When Ladd notices her staring at that, his face shifts, and he looks torn between pride and shame. “You didn't see the look on the baker's face,” he explains. “If you'd seen the way he was looking at me, you woulda known why I just _had_ to do it.” Lua smiles, and his grin is back, full-force. “See? I knew you'd understand. And if we just cut that half of the cake off, it's fine! Just let me make sure we don't miss any edges, I don't want you getting sick.”

He sets to work, and she watches him, her smile never faltering. It's the first birthday she's shared with him, and it's the best birthday she's ever had. Even though she knows he won't be giving her the present she really wants just yet, she still carries his promise that she'll receive it _someday_ , and until then, even with half of it cut away, she has a lot of cake to keep her busy.


	5. lullaby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired entirely by a headcanon discussion with Vizhion

She doesn't know what would give him nightmares, what on earth her fiance, the strongest man she's ever met, could possibly have to fear, but there is something and there are nights when she is awoken by his movements. He isn't a very still sleeper and she's grown used to that, but on the nights when he has nightmares, it is worse, and he will let go of her as he twists into himself, a look on his face that she has never seen him make in daylight.

Lua doesn't know what images he sees in his dreams, and she's never asked him, not even once, though there was a time when he woke up and, while she was consoling him, he muttered, “I don't even remember it, usually...” She doesn't say a word then, and tonight, she is silent when he suddenly wakes up and sees her watching him.

By this point, they have a routine for this, and he has given up being embarrassed and trying to deny anything. Instead, he sits up with her and, when she gestures, lays down with his head in her lap, letting himself be vulnerable for only a moment. She runs her hands through Ladd's hair and softly sings to him. Her voice is weak, she knows, but he says it's beautiful anyway, and what does it matter if it'd never be strong enough for her to perform? It's strong enough for him to hear, after all.

Soon enough, he sits back up, letting her finish her song before pulling her into his arms and laying back down, this time drifting off into a much more peaceful sleep.


End file.
